Rough seas keep divers from reaching Masbate ferry

MANILA (AFP) - Rough seas continued to prevent divers from reaching a capsized ferry in the central Philippines amid confusion over the number of people still missing from the disaster, officials said Saturday.

The 400-tonne MB Blue Water Princess capsized in stormy waters on Thursday and lies half-submerged some 500 metres (yards) from the shore near San Francisco town on Luzon island southeast of Manila

"They were not able to penetrate the ship because of rough and huge waves. The waves are so huge, their motorboat almost capsized. They are waiting for the waters to calm down," said coast guard spokesman Lawrence Platon.

Regional military chief Lieutenant Colonel Rhoderick Parayno said that an investigation by the divers was needed to confirm how many bodies were trapped aboard the vessel.

Divers had earlier reached the ship and seen bodies inside but were driven back by the waves.

There continued to be confusion over how many people were still missing from the disaster with the National Disaster Coordinating Centre saying that there were 256 people listed on the ship's manifest with 129 rescued and 12 dead.

However Platon said the coast guard had found there were only 142 people aboard when the vessel went down, based on a tally by the coast guard in Lucena City where the Blue Water Princess, referred to as the Blue Water in earlier government reports, originated.

Platon said the coordinating council had "misinterpreted the report," stating that 256 people was the maximum capacity of the vessel, not the actual number aboard.

He said that so far, the coast guard had recorded at least 126 rescued and eight dead.

Parayno conceded there had been some "double-counting" of fatalities following earlier military reports of as many as 15 bodies found.

"There is a problem because it is not yet official how many were on the ship," he said.

"If we can just enter the boat, it would become clearer," he said.